


the ol' college hall sit

by fruitbattery



Series: The Mighty Nein in College [1]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fjord Has Anxiety And Also FOMO, M/M, Multi, Nott And Fjord Are Friends, Other, they/them Mollymauk, yasha/beau is completely background
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-09-05 09:14:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16807708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fruitbattery/pseuds/fruitbattery
Summary: Fjord has been kicked out of his room. Fjord is more perturbed than he thought he would be.





	the ol' college hall sit

Fjord’s back hurts. He’s starting to think that he probably should’ve wrested a pillow from Mollymauk before he left. Cinderblocks are not a nice surface against which to lean.

His legs are stretched out across the cold, narrow hallway– he’s tall enough that his knees actually have to bend a little, but he doesn’t mind. His earbuds are in, and he’s blasting Moana. He thinks that playing it this loud is probably damaging his hearing, but he doesn’t care. 

A small, dark-haired head peeks around the corner. “Fjord?” Fjord recognizes it as belonging to Caleb’s roommate, an elusive mystery who he has probably seen twice all semester. She stands less than four feet tall and always wears an alarming amount of rouge on her cheeks. “Nott, right?” She nods. “Are you looking for Caleb?”

Nott steps fully around the corner. “I know where he is, thanks.” She jerks her thumb towards Fjord’s door. He pauses his music to hear her better, just in time to hear Jester’s musical giggle from inside the room, followed by something murmured in the low tones of Caleb. He grimaces, as something he doesn’t want to think about washes over him.

Whatever it was must’ve shown in his face, because Nott holds out her hand. “Want to hang out at mine for a while?”

***

Fjord doesn’t know how or why Caleb and Nott have an apartment. The rest of the sophomores all have to live in the shitty dorms, but the pair of them have managed to snag a reasonable place down a side street that’s less than ten minutes from the center of campus. Fjord has never actually been to the apartment. He does briefly wonder why what was currently happening in HIS BEDROOM couldn’t have happened there.

Nott leads him through the late winter chill, into a small brick building, and up several flights of stairs. She pauses at a door on the third floor and pulls out a key to unlock it. The first thing that hits Fjord is the darkness. Even with the seven or so light switches all being flipped on by Nott (Fjord notes that these are all about two feet off the ground, or next to tall chairs), the apartment is weirdly dark. Fjord gently fonds his tall frame into an unassuming but plush armchair while Nott scrambles off to the kitchen. The scent of the place is a little musty and sour, much like Caleb used to smell. Fjord wonders which came first, the atmosphere in here or the stench that used to constantly roll off of its other inhabitant. 

Nott emerges from the kitchen carrying two nondescript, steaming mugs. Fjord accepts the hot chocolate gratefully; it’s not yet spring, and the brief walk had left his fingertips aching with cold. After a moment, he realizes something. “These are from the cafeteria, aren’t they?”

Nott shrugs. “Probably. Caleb kept breaking ours, so I had to get us some more.” She pulls out a flask. “Want some?”

“Erm… no thanks.” Nott shrugs again and pours a generous swig into her own hot chocolate. Fjord glances around the room as his eyes adjust, and he notices… a lot of sparkling trinkets. Whatever grace got Nott and Caleb an apartment also got them… wall-to-wall Ikea shelves, apparently? Said shelves are piled with shit. What looks like Caleb’s dirty socks, random porcelain figurines, sets of polyhedral dice, a fork or two (also definitely from the dining hall), and piles and piles of books. Fjord notes, almost admiringly, that a few of the books still have the barcode from the library on the bottom of their spines.

Looking over at Nott again, Fjord notices that she has pulled out a book and started to read, leaving Fjord alone with his stewing, roiling thoughts. Deciding he should follow her lead, Fjord pulls out his phone, brings up a PDF of the textbook he’s supposed to be reading part of for tomorrow, and settles in for the long haul.

He must have fallen asleep, because the next think he knows, the door opens quietly. A darkened figure enters the room, revealing itself to be Caleb once Fjord can see his red hair. Fjord gives a little wave, but Caleb doesn’t seem to notice. He looks exhausted, practically falling over. There’s a thick scarf wrapped around his neck, but instead of unwrapping it and hanging it with the myriad of other scarves by the door, Caleb just shuffles off towards another door in the back of the apartment. Fjord can hear a sink turn on. A minute later, Caleb emerges, face and hair damp, but looking much more awake. This time, he notices Fjord curled up on the chair, and lifts a slightly shaky hand in greeting. The scarf is still around his neck, a little damp from getting too close to the sink. 

“Hey, Caleb,” Fjord says softly. “Nice night?” Caleb smiles softly. It’s a small smile, but it seems very genuine. It’s rather nice to look at. Caleb gestures towards his scarf, and Fjord chuckles a bit. “Think it’d be all right for me to go back now?”

“Ja,” responds Caleb. “Jester is still there because Yasha and Beau have not left her room, but she and Molly were asleep when I left.” Fjord nods and pushes himself laboriously out of the chair. His limbs seem to be full of water, and not, he thinks, just from being tired. Fjord definitely does not want to contemplate any other reasons for the peculiar sensation, especially as he sees Caleb tucking in the end of the scarf around his neck.

As Fjord heads for the door, out of the corner of his eye, he sees Caleb scoop up Nott in his arms, mumbling, “Let’s put you in a real bed, ja?” Fjord smiles at this sweetness before turning and hurrying back to his dorm.

***

When Fjord tries the handle of his door ten minutes later, he’s relieved to see that it’s still unlocked. He pushes the door open quietly. A beam of light from the hallway falls across a tangle of blue and purple in his roommate’s bed. Fjord shuts the door very gently and climbs into his own bed, blessedly unmussed from the evening’s activities. 

As he looks up at the ceiling, Fjord’s eyes can’t help but wander over to his right, where Molly and Jester are lying still. He’s let out a huge sigh before he realizes it. Fjord isn’t sure why, or if he’d even accept, but he can’t help feeling a little hurt that no one ever invites him to these things. Jester and Molly have both separately called him handsome, after all. He knows that it doesn’t mean anything, not necessarily, but all the same, a wave of longing passes over him. Just as he’s resolving to think about it later, because he needs to SLEEP goddamnit, a sleepy voice comes from the other bed.

“Good night, Fjord.” And a moment later, a higher pitched “Sleep well!” Fjord smiles, before he hears Molly’s voice again:

“You know, you really should join us next time.” 

All hopes of a good night sleep flee Fjord’s mind as he lays there, not daring to think harder about what Molly said in case it was just a sleepy miscommunication. But come morning, the two brightly-colored, sleepy smiles beaming at him from across the room are all the reassurance he needs.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first foray into writing in a long time, and certainly my first for this fandom. More CR drabbles coming soon!


End file.
